Core 2 is an eighth-generation x86 architecture microprocessor produced by Intel and based on the Intel Core microarchitecture; successor of the NetBurst microarchitecture that has powered most Intel processors since 2000. Core 2 also marks the retirement of Intel's Pentium brand name that has been used from 1993 and the reunion of Intel's notebook and desktop product lines since Pentium M was released apart from Pentium 4 in 2003.

The first wave of Core 2 processors was officially released on July 27, 2006. Like the Intel Core brand that it supersedes, Core 2 offers Duo (dual-core) and Solo (single-core) models. New product lines include the Extreme (high-end) model and the Quad (quad-core) model. The base processors are codenamed "Conroe" (Desktop) and "Merom" (Portable); their variants have codenames such as "Kentsfield" (quad-core Conroe) and "Penryn" (45nm Merom). Although the "Woodcrest" server CPUs are also based on Core microarchitecture, they are marketed under the Xeon brand rather than Core 2.

Unlike NetBurst-based processors, such as the Pentium 4 and Pentium D, Core 2 does not stress designs based on extremely high clock speeds but rather improvements on other CPU features, including cache efficiency and number of cores. The power consumption of these processors is much lower than the Pentium desktop line of products. With a TDP of only 65 W, Core 2 features a significantly reduced power consumption compared to its predecessor desktop chip, the Pentium 4 Prescott with a TDP of 130 W.